Preparing for Luna
by Marvel91
Summary: Crystal and Peter Maximoff return home from their honeymoon to find out that their fathers, Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr have been keeping secrets from them. They now have to prepare for their toughest mission: parenthood. Sequel to Silver Roses.
1. Chapter 1

My office doors flew open and an agitated Erik marched towards my desk. 'They're not here yet Erik. Will you please calm down.'

'I can't. They said they would be here by noon, it's almost ten. Why would they be so late? Something must have happened. We need to go look for them.'

'Crystal has checked in with me everyday for the past two weeks, as you well know.' I tapped the side of my head. 'They were leaving England this afternoon. If Peter is running them all that way I'm sure he'll demand regular pit stops. He's probably hit every fast food establishment from London to New York.'

My friend gave a sigh of relief, 'I suppose you're right. Though I'll still worry until I see them. Do you think they will like their gifts?'

I smiled as I heard my daughter call out to me, _we're at the front gates. _'Why don't you ask them yourself?'

Erik turned swiftly on his heel and I followed, we met our children on the front steps. Crystal ran up towards me and I was able to embrace her. She looked healthy enough. Bright eyes, glowing complexion. Nothing external to worry about. Now, I just needed to find an excuse to get her into the lab for a blood test. She pulled away and Peter approached for a handshake, as Crystal hugged Erik.

'Hey daddio'

I could not restrain myself from showing distaste, 'Peter if you wish to continue living here, never call me that again.'

He laughed, sensing that I was not being serious, 'sorry, what would you prefer? Pops?'

Thank goodness for Crystal. She was the source of Peter's calmness. 'Peter, why don't we just stick with Professor in front of students and Charles any other time ok?' She brushed the side of his arm and walked into the main hall. _Sorry we're late. We just wanted to do one more thing before we came home. _She showed me the mental image of two gravestones. They had been to place eternal flowers on Nina's grave. _Don't tell Erik just yet, Peter said he will._

I smiled and nodded towards her. My Crystal, heart of an angel.

'We have a surprise for you now you're home.' Erik began to lead them upstairs. Honestly, part of him is as impatient as his son. I headed to the lift to meet them on the third floor.

'Our room is empty. Someone stole all our stuff. I bet it was Scott.'

'Peter. One: I told you to stay here. Two: nobody has stolen anything.' Erik was trying to settle the speedster down. He'd been home two minutes and was already causing headaches. Crystal must have the patience of a saint to survive two whole weeks alone with him.

'Well, I did find several items labelled "Scott Summers" in your room Peter. Please stop antagonising each other. I'd like a whole academic year to go by where I don't have to set the staff detentions.'

'I'll keep him in check. So what's the surprise.' Crystal wanted to seem keen, but I could tell she was struggling to stay awake. Moving from London to Poland to Westchester in under twenty minutes must have effected her. She isn't designed to keep up with Peter as much as she tries to.

Erik stood back and moved the couple to the door. From behind them, he forced the door handle down and opened up their new suite.

'Chrissy! We have our own bathroom.' There was a silver blur around us as Peter inspected everything.

'We always had our own bathroom. What are you two up to?' Didn't miss a trick this one. Of course we couldn't tell her she was pregnant. The bigger room with the adjoining 'office' was so they would have nursery space for our growing family.

'Crystal, it makes sense for the whole family to be on one floor. Plus we thought that, as a married couple, you might appreciate some extra space.' I skirted round the outside of her mind, picking up her scepticism.

'I don't believe you, but thank you. At least I'll have a separate room to lock Peter in when he refuses to go to bed at a godly hour.' She hugged us both again, as Peter found their other surprise from the kitchen.

'Chrissy! We've got a puppy!' He bounced into the room holding the baby bulldog in his arms.

Crystal threw her head back in anguish. 'Seriously, I'm still house training Peter. Now I have to train a puppy as well'. Then she met its eyes and I knew Erik had made a wise choice in the gift. She was instantly in love with it. 'What's his name?'

'We've left that for you to decide.' Erik was beaming, clearly proud of himself. _See Charles, if the puppy can survive Peter, a baby will be fine._

The puppy in question was biting down on Peter's jacket making Crystal laugh in the process. 'You've locked that down haven't you. Don't worry, I don't like that jacket either Lockjaw.'

'We're calling the dog Lockjaw? Chrissy be serious.'

'I am serious. I'll name the dog and you can name our first born. You know, in about a decade.'

'Deal.' Peter laughed and they shook hands.

She was possibly going to regret that transaction. 'Well, we'll leave you two to unpack. We'll see you in the morning for breakfast.' With that we all said our good nights and Erik and I turned left towards our rooms.

_Charles did you hear that? She said a decade._

_We agreed not to tell her Erik. If she finds out she was pregnant when she absorbed the mist she'll be worried the entire time. That stress won't be good for her or the baby. And I have no idea what nine months of worry would feel like to Peter._

_So we stay with the original plan? When Hank next tests her, he'll lie by two weeks._

_Yes, they have just spent two weeks travelling Europe. I'm sure some of the activities during their honeymoon would result in a baby. _

'Goodnight Erik. I plan to get some decent sleep now they are back home where they belong.' With that I closed my door, fearful of what the future held for my small but precious family.


	2. Chapter 2 - Crystal’s Perspective

I could have stayed in bed a lot longer but the light was shining through the window directly into my eyes. When I turned over to avoid its gaze the absence of my husband was enough to pull me out of bed, throw on my gym wear and head downstairs.

Peter was the only person in the dining room. Most of the staff came down at six to eat without the interruption of students, and even though it was the summer holidays we still followed the same routine. As soon as he saw me I was greeted by a mug of tea placed into my hands and a morning kiss. I clumsily slid the mug onto the counter as to return Peter's passion.

'Get a room Maximoff, you're going put everyone off their food.'

'Had a room Summers, then you walked in like you owned it.' Peter muttered, pulling me upright and passing me back my brew.

I caught Jean roll her eyes, neither she nor I had the energy to stop the boys bickering in the morning and more often than not the absence of bickering meant elaborate pranks were taking place.

'How was Europe?' My closest and best friend was by my side now, picking at a breakfast muffin.

'Jean it was amazing. I took so many pictures and I've got you a couple of things. The food! Oh my god the food. I'm surprised I didn't gain 20lbs. All I wanted to do was eat.' We laughed and caught up until my father entered the room.

'Now we are all up and present, we can go over the plans for the day. Now, you may not all remember but we have invited some potential students to visit the mansion for an open day tomorrow.

Sometimes I'm sure Peter could read my mind; he asked the exact question I was thinking. 'Isn't it a bit late to be just looking at schools now?'

'Yes, but these students have just recently come into their powers or have decided that, due to their mutantions, school was not for them. We're offering a second chance. With that in mind, there will be no training today as we need to prepare the mansion. I also have your proposed schedules for the next academic year here.'

As he handed out our timetables I could swear my father was glancing at me with a worried look. Then once I saw my bit of paper I knew why. 'English literature and music? Who will be watching the little ones this year?'

'There are enough staff members now for them to have proper lessons with specialists in each subject. Plus, I thought you would appreciate a slower pace with some older students. There also the addition advantage that you teaching literature allows me to teach ethics and philosophy. It all falls into place nicely.' He smiled at me, but deep down I knew there was something else. Another reason for the dramatic timetable change.

'I have a question.' Peter raised his hand as if he was one of the students and it made me laugh.

'Basically, you're teaching PE because you're a one trick pony Maximoff.' Scott piped up. It was too early for this.

'Eight world records Summers. How many laser quest world records do you have? Oh yeah, none.' Way too early for this.

'You were disqualified. You know that right?'

'Still counts'

I had to put an end to this. I'd not even finished my first mug of tea and they were already giving me a headache. 'Sweetie it doesn't count, that's what disqualified means. But we were still all very impressed. Now, what was your question before I throw you and Scott out the window.'

'Oh yeah. What are these afternoon training sessions?'

'I'm glad you asked' my father looked at us but his eyes seemed to be questioning the idea itself. 'Erik and I have decided to pair you up to work with a group of mutants with similar powers to yours for an hour every other day. That way as well as their academic lessons, all students will be supported more thoroughly in developing their mutantions than in previous years. The reason you're doubled up is to help you maintain control of the class. Scott and Kurt, you'll support students with precision and tactics. Peter and Piotr, physical strength and endurance. Warren and Ororo flight. Crystal and Erik, psionic manipulation. Hank and Sage heighten intellect. This leaves Jean and I with telepaths and empaths. Raven will continue to train current and potential X-men.'

I caught Erik's eyes and smiled. While it was weird knowing I would be sharing a class with my father-in-law, I did know his reputation precedes him and there was no way I was going to have to deal will behavioural problems in that class. The poor kids were going to be too scared to sneeze, let alone cause trouble.

After breakfast we began to clean up the mansion, which didn't take long at all. 'Peter just tell us when you're ready. I'll dust, Jean make sure everything's away. Kurt, could you clean the chandelier please? I asked this of my friends, but we knew we could clean the entirety of the mansion in three minutes. I focused on the air particles within the house visualising the dust. Gesturing upward and out towards the open door, the dust left in its own accord. Jean was doing a similar stance making sure all the possessions in the house were away. After three seconds we heard 'ready' shouted from the top floor and the team jumped into the air. We knew by time we had landed, Peter would have swept and mopped all the floors and the inside would be done.

Outside was always more fun as it always seemed to end up with us goofing off. I'd commanded the weeds to go into hiding and began to encourage the flowers to bloom when I felt water being tipped over me and the smell of sulphur made the culprit undeniable.

'Kurt!' I forced the water off myself to hit him in the face, which was the beginning of a water fight distracting the whole team for twenty minutes. It would have been longer if Scott hadn't been so desperate to catch Peter (who was still completely dry). In his hurry he didn't notice that dad and Erik were stood behind his target and once Peter had moved it was too late to stop the water. Well. I could have stopped the water but I naturally had sided with Peter in the Maximoff/Summers war of words and wanted to see Scott talk his way out of this one. I was surprised that the look on Erik's face wasn't causing the water to evaporate and make steam radiate off him.

Twenty four hours later and we were ready.

'Chrissy, do I have to wear the shirt? I teach gym. Please let me put on those stupid grey sweats at least.' Peter was pulling at the tie I had just done up. I was regretting waking him up so early. I knew I should have waited until cars started turning into the drive. He'd still have been ready in time.

'Peter you look handsome, just leave the tie alone.' I straightened it up and couldn't resist kissing his neck, working my way across his jawline, up to his lips. His hands had quickly undone my neat French twist and my hair cascended down my back. 'That took me twenty minutes.' I sighed, only pulling away from him slightly.

'Looks better down.'

Our moment managed to keep him distracted until mutants and their parents began to arrive. We walked towards the stairs and caught Erik looking out of the window.

'Coming down dad? Are you coming? Do you want to come down with us? Do you?'

'Breath Peter. Charles and I have agreed that I shall skip the tours. It's bad enough he's got me teaching.' Erik seemed more unhappy than normal, that or I was just being overly perceptive.

'I'll send Peter up with some lunch later. I'm sure no one will notice a quick disappearance.'

'Thank you Crystal, make sure you don't strain yourself today. Take your time.' As he spoke, he dropped eye contact with me looking downward. What a weird thing to say.

The day passed in a blur. Potential students and parents asking thousands of questions. Parents showing concern for how the school would deal with their child's mutantion. The concern and panic was giving me headache. A constant pounding that I couldn't escape was making the noise unbearable, so I dipped into the kitchen for a glass of water and a moment of peace. Peter caught me leaving the hall and was in the kitchen before I was.

'Everything ok Chrissy?'

I didn't want to worry him. I didn't know what the cause was, it was probably nothing. 'Just hot. It's a little too noisy.'

His hand brushed against my forehead. No one saw this side of Peter except me. The caring side, not the practical joker who ran wild over the mansion. 'You do feel a little warm. Why don't you take a break?' His hand fell to the side of my face, sweeping my hair from my eyes. He tipped my chin up and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

There was a cough at the back of the room, someone alerting us of their presence.

'Sorry.' I felt we had to apologise for our indiscretion but the woman and her daughter didn't seem interested. 'I'm Mrs Maximoff, I teach literature and music. This is my husband...'

'You don't need to apologise to me dear, we're the ones out of bounds. I'm Gail Collins, this is my daughter Laurie. We were just looking for somewhere quiet . It was getting a little too chaotic for Laurie in the main hall.'

For once I totally understood the feeling. I looked at the young girl and smiled. She seemed unsure of herself. 'Hi Laurie, I'm Crystal. So, what can you do?'

'Mom calls it pheromone manipulation. My dad can do the same thing. I can make people do what I want usually.'

'Usually?' Peter was up for the challenge, he loved seeing if a psychic could get inside his head.

'I want you two to leave but you're not. That's never happened before.' She was so matter of fact that she was oblivious to her rudeness.

'Laurie!'

'It's fine Ms Collins. Very few people can get into Peter's head and my DNA isn't the same as a typical mutant, so it makes sense you can't quite reach me.' I could tell that this behaviour was something she was use to dealing with in regards to her daughter.

'Well Laurie, you've finally found the school for you. Somewhere you can't control the teachers.'

By the evening we could safely say we had been successful and as a reward we sent Peter to get pizza. There was no way he would wait thirty minutes for delivery.

'Did anyone peek your interest dad?'

'A couple of strong students. David Alleyne gains the knowledge of the people around him. He'll be a challenge to teach. Sofia Mantega can manipulate sound through the wind and Laurie Collins.'

'We met her. I don't think she likes us.' Peter was back with what looked like twenty pizzas for eleven people.

'Hungry hunny?' I teased as he sat with five boxes piled on his knees.

Dad was pushing Peter for an answer, but he was too distracted by food to cooperate, 'why doesn't she like you?'

'She couldn't control us. She said it was the first time it had happened.' I tried to take a slice of Peter's pizza as I spoke, not really concentrating on the others' reaction. I promptly had my hand pushed away.

'Really? Her mother said she can manipulate pheromones. She should have been able to control you.' Hank was interested now, 'even with your Inhuman DNA you still have the same hormones. Unless...'

I saw my dad look at Hank and mental cut him off. 'Unless what Hank?' Now it was my turn to push for an answer.

He looked fluster and muttered, 'maybe the mist made you more Inhuman than mutant. Maybe you've changed more than we anticipated.' He looked at the floor and I knew he was lying.

'Keep your secrets Hank. But I know you three are hiding something and I will find out.' I looked from Hank to my father, to Erik.

What were they hiding?


End file.
